<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Pleasure to Meet You by curiouserncuriouser</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23777314">Pleasure to Meet You</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/curiouserncuriouser/pseuds/curiouserncuriouser'>curiouserncuriouser</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Songbird [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>British Actor RPF, Marvel Cinematic Universe RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, First Dates, First Kiss, Sex, Smut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 20:33:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,317</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23777314</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/curiouserncuriouser/pseuds/curiouserncuriouser</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>She hadn't wanted to date a costar before, worried about how it could impact her performance and career. But Tom Hiddleston might be too tempting an exception to the rule.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tom Hiddleston/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Songbird [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699837</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is one possible ending to "The Songbird" where our protagonist, Shyla, finds herself torn between her leading men (Chris Evans &amp; Sebastian Stan). For this ending, she's moving on, and trying to find someone new. If you want to read all the plot leading up to it &amp; learn more about the character, please check out the first work in the series: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22905268/</p><p>If you HAVE read that, this picks up during the premiere for Civil War, so a number of months afterwards.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>At the premiere after-party, Shyla was chatting with Paul Rudd, mutually making fun of each other. While she hadn’t hung out with him as much as Chris or Seb, she’d bonded strongly with him with merciless reciprocal mocking. More tender-hearted souls might have looked on their interactions and assumed there was nothing but ill-will, but the two of them were just so sarcastic, it was just how they would get a laugh out of each other. After covering the usual territory (“you’re so old,” “you’re a talentless hack,” etc), he made his excuses to go get a drink and find his wife.</p><p>She was standing by herself, considering whether she should get another drink herself or just make a break for it and head home, a voice came from over her shoulder, “Excuse me, I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.” She turned towards the English accent, and he offered his hand and continued, “I’m Tom Hiddleston.”</p><p>She accepted the proffered hand, “Hi, Tom! Shyla Riddle, it’s so wonderful to meet you!”</p><p>He had closed his other hand over hers, “Likewise!” They stood there beaming at each other for a moment, before he realized he’d been holding her hand too long, and dropped it, blushing a little and raising his hand to rub his neck. “Welcome to the Avengers! Your performance was excellent, you did a fantastic job bringing The Songbird to life!”</p><p>She blushed, wringing her hands a little, “Thanks! It was quite the experience. But…I’m sure you know that!”</p><p>“Too true! You look like you are bereft of a drink,” he observed. “Can I get you something?”</p><p>“We can hit up the bar together, and you can tell me a little about yourself.”</p><p>It turned out, they had more in common than just being in the Avengers franchise. Academic interests, some family dynamics, a number of random things. He was so charming and lovely, it was easy to talk to him. And while she didn’t really go weak in the knees for an English accent, as so many American women did, his intelligence and kindness, combined with that smile…woof.</p><p>“So, I wound up with a pretty nasty black eye, but fortunately the skin didn’t break or anything, so,” she gestured to her right eye, and he leaned in to get a closer look, bringing up his hand to lightly brush her cheekbone, “no permanent damage. And I took the time to go to Disney World!”</p><p>“So fortunate that there weren’t any lasting marks!” he couldn’t help but linger a little, brush at her hair before lowering his hand again.</p><p>“Well, I kinda think I’d look cool with a scar, but it might somewhat harm my employability. Although if the scar is cool enough, maybe it could help.”</p><p>“A nice dramatic slice through the eyebrow?”</p><p>“Exactly!”</p><p>“Very warrior queen chic!”</p><p>“Just call me Boudica,” she grinned at him, and he laughed.</p><p>He licked his lips a little as he smiled down at her, “It’s been such a delight speaking with you, Shyla. I wasn’t sure if I should come to this, as I wasn’t even in this movie, but I’m glad I got a chance to meet you.”</p><p>She put her hand on his, gave it a little squeeze, “I’m glad you came, too,” she smiled at him. He covered her hand in his. She licked her lips as well, lifting her eyes to his, “How, um…how long are you in LA for?”</p><p>“I’ve got a few meetings, I’ll be here for a week. How is the press schedule for you?”</p><p>“I’ve got a few interviews and appearances this week in LA. Next week I head to Asia for a couple weeks, and then London at the end of the month.”</p><p>“You wouldn’t happen to have the time and interest in grabbing a coffee with me, either here or in London?” he ran a thumb over the back of her hand.</p><p>“I’d like that very much,” she blushed. “Here, let me give you my number.”</p><p>After she’d put her number in his phone, they exchanged farewells and she walked away. He watched her go, saw her look over her shoulder at him with a little smile, and he bit his lip. She was a <em>fascinating</em> creature. He was still watching her start up a conversation with Chadwick when he felt a hand clap him on the shoulder.</p><p>Chris said, “Hey man, how’s it going?”</p><p>“Mr Evans! It’s going very well, congratulations on the film!” they shook hands.</p><p>“Saw you chatting with the newest Avenger,” Chris observed.</p><p>“Yes, I thought I would introduce myself.”</p><p>“Looked like a pretty friendly introduction…”</p><p>“Well, Shyla seems like a very friendly woman,” Tom didn’t want to say anything about the potential for a date, or even his interest in her.</p><p>“She’s great, man, she’s great. Just…uh…be careful.”</p><p>“Excuse me?”</p><p>“Don’t hurt her. If you do, you’ll have a lot of people to answer to.”</p><p>“I’m sorry?” he said with polite English incredulity.</p><p>“She’s a good friend, and her life hasn’t been an easy one. She deserves the best. If that isn’t you, you’re better off not starting anything.”</p><p>“We’re just going to get coffee together, Chris.”</p><p>“Yeah, but she’s…she’s something else, man.”</p><p>“Were you and her…?”</p><p>Chris smiled, pulling at his beard. “It was complicated. We were best friends. I messed that up. But I still care about her a lot, and I don’t want her to get hurt. She’s been through enough.”</p><p>“Alright. Duly noted. Any advice, then?”</p><p>Chris chuckled, “You want me to give you an unfair advantage?” He clapped Tom on the shoulder again, “Just give her your respect, your patience…and food. She’s an excellent cook herself, but she’s just a sucker for any number of foods.”</p><p>“I can do all of the above. Anything else?”</p><p>“If she agreed to a coffee date, she must be into you. She doesn’t actually like coffee.”</p><p>Tom grinned a little, “Tea?”</p><p>“Loves the stuff.”</p><p>“Excellent. Woman after my own heart.”</p><p>“Good luck, man,” Chris thumped his shoulder one final time, and took his leave.</p><p>Well, that made for an interesting development. Chris had a history of dating women he’d worked with, although that wasn’t odd in Hollywood. And Tom knew he’d been close friends with Shyla. But he hadn’t known there was anything other than that. He’d done some reading about her when she was initially cast, but hadn’t gone into much depth. He’d seen Frozen, she was clearly very talented. He hadn’t thought terribly hard about her again until he saw her tonight, and he had been struck. It was rare to find someone in Hollywood with such a forceful personality that it shone right through their eyes before they’d said a word. And even rarer for that personality to be such a delight, not just jaded from years of enduring the trials of showbusiness. Shyla was just such a person. And when he spoke to her…it was over. Her wit fairly knocked him on his arse. And her questions were so unexpected. She wasn’t interested in other film work, she wanted to know about his charity work, what he’d been reading. She told hilarious stories about their mutual friends from the Avengers cast, she was a natural storyteller.</p><p>Chris’ involvement in the situation was…interesting. He was clearly protective of her, but it seemed more than brotherly. He couldn’t exactly ask over tea “What’s the story with you and Chris?” as he had no idea what he could be stumbling into. He didn’t want to upset her or open any wounds. But he was terribly curious what had happened between them to get Chris to respond in such a way after just witnessing a bit of flirting.</p><p> </p><p>When he saw her walk into the tea shop, his heart skipped a beat. She was dazzling. A short dress, leather jacket, a scarf in her braided hair. When he caught a breath, he leapt to his feet to greet her. Her smile fairly glowed as she reached up to hug him and press their cheeks together in greeting. “You look wonderful,” he managed.</p><p>“You don’t look too shabby yourself! It’s good to see you!”</p><p>“Thank you for taking the time to come out, I’m sure it’s a busy week for you!”</p><p>“Well, you caught me on a good day, I have no obligations on my calendar.”</p><p>“Excellent, I’m a lucky man, then.”</p><p>“So, why the change of venue? Are you already so homesick you couldn’t go a moment longer without tea?”</p><p>He laughed, “No, I was tipped off that you prefer it to coffee.”</p><p>“I do, it’s true! But I would have been fine anywhere, I can find something at any café. It’s very considerate of you, though, thank you, I appreciate it.”</p><p>“My pleasure! I’ve also heard this place has excellent sweets, which helps.”</p><p>“You really are in it to win it!” she gave him a cheeky grin. “So. Tom. Wait…what is your middle name?”</p><p>“William, why?”</p><p>“When you were little, what did your mother call you when you were in trouble?”</p><p>“Thomas William. And why do you want to know that?”</p><p>“If you’re already gathering intel on my preferences, knowing what to call you when you’re in trouble seems like fair psychological warfare!”</p><p>He couldn’t help but grin, “You have a point.”</p><p>“Alright, then, let’s talk about your preferences. What kind of tea do you prefer?”</p><p>“Earl Grey.”</p><p>“Lemon? Cream?”</p><p>“A splash of milk.”</p><p>“And, for my own safety, lest I get stabbed when the dessert cart comes around, what kind of sweets do you prefer?” she asked.</p><p>“Cake. Is this a one-sided interrogation, or am I allowed to ask questions, too?”</p><p>“You may!”</p><p>“And how do you take your tea?”</p><p>“It depends a little,” she considered. “Plain jasmine tea is my all-purpose tea. But if I’m having it with sweets, I stick with classic black tea, but I drink it like an absolute child, full of milk and sugar.”</p><p>“Is jasmine your favorite flower?”</p><p>“Why do ask?”</p><p>“Your taste in both tea and perfume would indicate it.”</p><p>“Good nose! I would say it’s one of my favorite <em>smells</em>, but I prefer peonies and anemones, aesthetically.”</p><p>“And what are your other favorite smells?”</p><p>“Mmm…probably nothing unusual. Petrichor. Ocean brine. Babies’ heads.”</p><p>“Petrichor? The smell of rain? <em>Excellent</em> word, well put!”</p><p>She preened a little, “Why thank you! What are your favorite smells?”</p><p>“I’d also say petrichor. And citrus, oranges.”</p><p>“Oh! I have a little miniature orange tree in my house! His name is Geoffrey, you’ll have to meet him!”</p><p>“You’ve named your orange tree?” he laughed.</p><p>“All my plants have names! It makes it easier to keep them alive. I have a hard time summoning the empathy to care for Generic House Plants Numbers 1-4.”</p><p>“Well that is a clever trick, I shall have to think of a name for the next houseplant I attempt to care for. And it would be a pleasure to meet Geoffrey.”</p><p>“What is your favorite flower?”</p><p>“Well that is an excellent question, I don’t know that a woman has ever asked. There is something classic about a rose.”</p><p>“And favorite color?”</p><p>“I’d have to say blue,” he said, trying not to obviously eye her blue braid.</p><p>She didn’t miss a beat though, she picked up the end of the braid and bounced the curl, “Fortunate for me!”</p><p>“Is blue your favorite color?”</p><p>“Probably teal, actually. But if we’re sticking to the small box of crayons: yes, blue.”</p><p>“Alright, let’s see, what else to ask…”</p><p>The waiter came over to take their order, and they continued to chat about favorite things, and then moved on to life in general while they drank their tea and ate some sweets. When it was clear they couldn’t tarry much longer without ordering more, Shyla asked, “You’d said you had meetings this week, did you have any plans for the rest of the day?”</p><p>“My schedule is clear,” he responded hopefully.</p><p>“Is it over-eager of me to ask if we could…keep hanging out?” She blushed, and then hurried to add, “If you don’t want to, that’s fine, I just…”</p><p>“I would love nothing more, I was planning on asking you the same,” he couldn’t stop himself from grinning broadly at her little shy smile.</p><p>“Did you have any ideas what we could do next? A little early for dinner or drinks…”</p><p>“We could while away the time at a museum? The Getty is not far off.”</p><p>“I would like that very much! I’ve hardly been since I moved to LA, and they have an exhibition of illuminated manuscripts I’d <em>love</em> to see!”</p><p>“Perfect, then!”</p><p>“Do you have a rental car?”</p><p>“No, I took a Lyft, I try not to drive in LA.”</p><p>“That is the wisest thing I’ve ever heard. Well, I unwisely drove, we can take my car.”</p><p>“Shall we, then?”</p><p> </p><p>“Tom, thank you for a lovely day. I had a truly wonderful time.”</p><p>“As did I.” He looked between her eyes and her lips. They were sitting in her car outside his hotel, after having spent the afternoon at the Getty and the evening at a lovely restaurant. She had turned the car off, and they had unbuckled their seatbelts, but neither of them had made a move to get out. He watched her bite her lip a little, felt a wave of warmth roll through him. “Shyla, may I…may I kiss you?”</p><p>She smiled, nodding and leaning towards him. They both found it a little difficult to stop smiling long enough to pucker up, but they managed. He cupped her cheek, and felt her soft fingers alight on his chest and then move up to his neck. This was…his head was reeling. He wasn’t a forceful man unless asked, but he found himself wanting to pull her into his lap, hold her in his arms, squeeze her. But he contented himself with the warm softness of her lips, the sweet caress of her fingers below his jaw.</p><p>When they came up for air, his long fingers wound around to the nape of her neck, and he rested his forehead against hers. “Thank you,” he breathed.</p><p>“My pleasure,” she grinned at him, moving her hand to his face, studying his cheekbones. She moved her lips back to his, and scooted closer to him in her seat, frustrated by the center console of the car. He moved a hand to her waist, feeling her sharp intake of breath even at this simple gesture. Oh, she was intoxicating.</p><p>She cursed a little, thumping the plastic that separated their bodies, “There’s a reason only teenagers make out in cars,” she scowled, and he chuckled.</p><p>“Very true,” he conceded.</p><p>“I, uh…I’d suggest a change of venue, but as we’re at your hotel, that also feels a bit faster than I would like…”</p><p>“Absolutely no pressure, I understand completely.”</p><p>“…I do, however, have a backseat,” she finished.</p><p>He laughed a little, surprised. “Are you sure?”</p><p>“I don’t see any paparazzi around to catch us acting like horny teenagers. And it might be a <em>bit</em> easier to keep our clothes on.”</p><p>He grinned at her, and then scrambled for the door handle. When they faced each other again in the backseat, he asked again “Are you sure?”</p><p>“Don’t make me regret it!”</p><p>She reached up with both hands to touch his face, touching his cheeks, his jaw. She pulled him gently down to her, kissing him sweetly. His hands moved of their own accord, one to her hip, the other to the back of her neck. She sighed into the kiss, he felt gooseflesh raise on his arms. Her hands moved as well, one mirroring his and moving to the back of his head, the other sliding down to his chest. She leaned even closer, pressing against him, her fingers flexing a little, wanting to grasp at him. His hand at her hip twitched in the same way, wanting the same thing. Resisting that temptation, he moved his hand to her mid-back, and felt a small shiver run through her at this small movement of his hand on her body. Oh, gods, she was so sweet. She’d made it clear she didn’t intend for the night to end with their clothes off, and he intended to respect her wishes, but the way she moved made him think that her body wasn’t entirely on board with what her brain was saying. His tongue moved to her lips and she opened to him, a little moan escaping as she did. Now she gripped at his shirt, and he held her as tight as he could without hurting her.</p><p>They came up, gasping for air, her lashes fluttering open and her grey eyes locking with his. “Well then,” he managed. “That was…” he could see her grinning at him expectantly, “lovely.”</p><p>She laughed “That was the most English response to a kiss I’ve ever heard!”</p><p>He grinned down at her, “Well, I don’t know if you noticed, but I am, in fact, English.”</p><p>“I did pick up on that, actually,” she launched into an over-the-top abominable English accent, “Cheerio, pip pip! Cheers for the higgledy-piggledy, love!”</p><p>“That was <em>atrocious</em>! Do you think that’s what I sound like?”</p><p>“No, but it was worth it just to see the look on your face,” she grinned mischievously at him, eyes sparkling even in the dark. She switched into a posh English accent that sounded rather like his, “I am well aware that Britons do not, in fact, speak in a dialect akin to the very worst of colonial imaginings.”</p><p>His eyes widened, “That was very good!”</p><p>“I went to grad school in the UK, and I was a voice actor before this whole Marvel thing. Can’t get very far in audiobooks unless you can pull off an accent or two.”</p><p>He tucked her hair behind her ear, “This hardly seems fair. It’s getting late. I want to ask you more about your life, but I also very much want to kiss you again.”</p><p>“Well, there can always be time for more questions in a second date…” she tugged at his shirt, pulling him in for another kiss. It was a bit slower, more patient, but made some beautiful promises about that second date.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Timing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Tom! I’m sorry, I thought you were coming by at noon,” she rushed to explain, surprised to see him at her door.</p><p>He tried not to gawk, she had clearly just been working out. She was sweaty, and just in a small pair of running shorts and a sports bra, and hands wrapped like she’d been doing martial arts. She still had up-tempo music blaring out of the headphones around her neck. He stammered “I’m so sorry, I thought we’d said 11? I must be mistaken, I can just go…”</p><p>“Don’t be ridiculous, come on in! I just…you’ll have to be a bit patient and amuse yourself while I get ready, this wasn’t exactly the outfit I’d had planned,” she gestured down at herself as she stepped aside to let him in.</p><p>“If I’m being perfectly honest, that outfit would be an excellent choice, you look amazing,” he said as he passed her.</p><p>“Flatterer.”</p><p>As the door shut, he reached a hand to the bare skin at her waist, “Hardly,” he breathed as he pulled her in for a kiss.</p><p>Her adrenaline was still high from the workout, and her body responded immediately to the kiss, molding to his. She reached up to his face and realized she was still wearing her hand wraps, and she broke the kiss, giggling a little, breath coming in a bit short. “It’s good to see you, too, Tom!”</p><p>“Sorry, I just…your lips were all I’ve been able to think about these past couple of days. I didn’t think I could wait much longer.”</p><p>“I’m glad you didn’t. But, I’m also horrifically sweaty and gross, and I don’t want to ruin your shirt before we go for a meal.”</p><p>“I don’t object to a little pre-lunch ruination, but if you insist…”</p><p>“Unfortunately, I do insist. I’m also <em>starving</em>. I need a shower, and I need food. Can I get you anything while you wait? Something to drink?”</p><p>“No need, I’m fine.”</p><p>“Alright, well, allow me to give you the quickest of tours. You can basically see the whole house from here. We’re in the living room. The kitchen is through there, on the right on the other side of the dining table, help yourself if you need something. The little nook over there is…kind of my library. Through here, the bathroom is the middle door, and the office and bedroom are on the right and left, respectively. Unfortunately, there’s only the one lavatory, and I’m about to occupy it. Are you sure there isn’t anything I can get you? Cup of tea? Anything?”</p><p>He shook his head at her offer. “This house is very…”</p><p>“Small?”</p><p>“No! I was thinking ‘cute’ or similar. Maybe…not very LA?”</p><p>“Well, I bought it before any movie contracts. And it suits me, it’s got everything I need, and easy access to everything. It’s not terribly private, I might not be able to stay forever. But in the interim: I love it!”</p><p>“It’s lovely. You squeezed a library in there?” he asked, interest piqued. In fairness, he was more interested in her bedroom, but it seemed a bit gauche to wait in there.</p><p>“Yup, feel free to browse the stacks. Just make yourself at home, I’ll be quick through the shower.”</p><p>“Will do.”</p><p>She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and then scampered off to the bathroom, and in short order he heard water running. He truly hadn’t intended to arrive early, but enjoyed the opportunity to get a peek into Shyla’s life a bit. The living room was colorful, eclectic. He saw Geoffrey, the orange tree she had mentioned, and went over to give it a smell. It was sitting next to a record player, with a small selection of records. Not a vinyl aficionado, it just looked like she bought her favorite albums to hear in this format. She had a number of trinkets scattered across her shelves, most looked travel-related, plus books. When he heard the sound of her shower curtain open and then close again, he walked over to take a quick peek into her bedroom. He didn’t go in, that seemed like crossing a line, but he did see the dress she was going to wear spread out on the bed, and felt a little thrill at the prospect of seeing her in it. He looked into her office, there was a large desk filled with…chaos, essentially. There was a lot of computing equipment, and some audio recording things. Various stacks of papers, from bills to scripts, that seemed like they were probably organized but not in a way anyone else would understand. There were a lot of crafting supplies, paints and such, and he wondered if they were aspirational or if she actually found the time. Along the top of the room there was a high shelf with a few action figures of the characters she’d played, awards she’d received, and fan art. In one corner there was a huge box that looked somewhat like a freestanding closet, which he realized must be an audio recording booth. The front was decorated like the TARDIS, and he smiled at her nerdery.</p><p>He went into the kitchen to get a glass of water, noting the kitchen looked well-used and full of equipment, and then into her library nook to peruse her books. There was an amazingly wide variety of books. A few shelves of books he thought might be physical copies of books she’d narrated, but the rest spanned from classics to trashy modern romance novels. And there was a Kindle, indicating that these books were simply the ones she valued enough to have paper copies of. She must be a truly voracious reader.  He found a section of ancient Greek plays that looked well-worn and pulled one off the shelf. She had seating in here, but it felt a little intimate to so thoroughly invade her reading space on the second date, so he took the book and the water glass out to her living room, and settled on the couch.</p><p>He heard the water turn off, the shower curtain open, and then the various noises of her going through her ablutions in the bathroom. He focused on the book to distract himself of thoughts about her, naked, on the other side of that door. He heard her quietly say something that sounded very much like “fuck” before a bit more rustling, and the creaking of a door hinge. “Sorry,” she said around the door, “left my fresh clothes in the bedroom. I’m just about done, though, and I’m done with the lav if you need it.”</p><p>“It’s no trouble, take all the time you need,” he looked over to smile in reassurance, when she stepped out in a very small towel. She was clutching it to her chest with her old clothes, and he could tell it was only covering from just above her nipples to just below…well, just to the tops of her thighs. “Sorry!” he apologized before averting his eyes, but he had already seen what he’d seen. Gods it was a challenge not to follow her into the bedroom. But he did decide to toss a cheeky “Let me know if you need any help in there,” after her, and heard her laugh as she shut the bedroom door.</p><p>It wasn’t long before he heard the door hinge creak, announcing her. He stood and turned towards her, and involuntarily put his hand to his chest. She was just beautiful. He was frozen in place, speechless. She smiled back at him a little awkwardly before giving jazz hands with a little “ta-da!”</p><p>He garnered enough self-control to slow the steps he took towards her from a sprint to a more-or-less normal pace. He paused a bit as he reached her, checking her expression. When it registered as delight, he simply said “You’re gorgeous,” before bending to kiss her. Fresh from getting cleaned up, she tasted like mint and smelled like jasmine. He ran a hand up her arm, fingers tracing along the back, and cupped her cheek. She molded her body against him again, this time not having to worry about her sweaty clothes as she pressed into him and threw her arms around him.</p><p> </p><p>All through lunch they shared little touches. It was still LA, and they were still out in public, and neither wanted to risk becoming gossip column fodder on their second date, but it was too hard to resist. And the jokes got cheekier, more frequently spoken in low tones in case a surrounding table happened to be listening. She had press interviews in the evening, so he wasn’t expecting much out of the rest of their time together. When she suggested they go back to her place until she had to leave, it took all his self-control not to pump his fist in the air in celebration.</p><p>When they got back to her house, she smiled when she felt him at her back as she unlocked the door, and he ran his fingers up her arms. It made it really difficult to remember how keys were supposed to work, but she managed. She got the door open and he shadowed her footsteps, trying to minimize any distance between them. She turned to shut and lock the door behind him, and bit her lip as she pulled him by the shirt over to the couch. He couldn’t even wait to sit, as soon as she faced him again he pulled her in for a kiss. Eventually he relented that, if he wanted to deepen the kiss, sitting would make it enormously easier, so he sat and reeled her in to his side. He was reclined somewhat in the corner of the couch, and she knelt next to him, taking the opportunity to have a momentary height advantage. The cheeky grin she gave him as she moved to his lips sent lightning bolts through his whole body.</p><p>He wrapped his arms around her, laying her down, and placing his body over her. Immediately she wrapped her legs around his slender hips, pulling him close. The hem of her dress rode up, pooling at the tops of her thighs. She gasped when he pressed into her, her grip tightening. Their bodies rocked together, and her eyes rolled back into her head with a “Oh god, Tom, don’t stop!”</p><p>His cock, at rigid attention inside his jeans, was rubbing right against the satiny fabric over her clit. “D’you like that?” he asked, building a rhythm.</p><p>“God, you’re going to make me come from that alone…”</p><p>And he was delighted, watching her lose herself in the moment. She was spectacular, he couldn’t wait to see this with all their clothes off. He kissed her, but quickly realized she was too distracted by other sensations, so he kissed down her neck, and she squirmed even harder. He held her thigh, fingers digging into her at the sound of her moans and gasps.</p><p>The doorbell rang. She tried to tell him to ignore it and continue, but they could hear Sebastian’s voice through the door, “Shyla! Come on, I’ve been texting you!”</p><p>Her body tensed up in an entirely different way, “Oh, shit.” Tom rose off her, concerned and no small part disappointed at the interruption. He arranged himself back on the couch, adjusting himself so neither the wet spot she left on his jeans nor his reaction to her were visible.</p><p>She smoothed her hair and her dress, making at least a vague attempt to look like she hadn’t been thisclose to orgasm seconds before. She flung the door open, trying to temper the frustration in her own voice, “What’s up Seb, what’s going on?”</p><p>“Is your phone off or something, why haven’t you been…oh. Hey, Tom,” he took in the scene in front of him, and quickly did the mental calculus. Tom looking a little sheepish as he raised a hand in greeting, Shyla looking somewhat disheveled, lips a little swollen, cheeks decidedly pink.</p><p>“Just been…busy. So what’s so important that you’re at my door?”</p><p>“They changed the schedule for the interviews tonight. They need us there, like, <em>now</em>. And you were on the way, so when you didn’t respond…”</p><p>She simply responded, “Well fuck.” She hung her head for a second, processing. “Okay, here, come in. I’ve got to change and freshen up.” She turned to address the man on the couch, “I’m so sorry, Tom! Of all the fucking timing…”</p><p>“It’s no trouble, I understand how these things go. You go ahead and change,” he assured her, while trying to think unsexy thoughts and calm himself down. She gave him a squeeze on the shoulder as she walked past, and then disappeared into her room. “So…Sebastian. Congratulations on the premiere! The film was excellent!”</p><p>“Thanks, man. How…uh…how are things with you?”</p><p>“Excellent! I was in town for some meetings, and fortunately that timed out well so I got to see the show.”</p><p>“And I guess that’s where you met Shyla?”</p><p>“Yes, exactly. She’s…well, she’s…”</p><p>Seb gave a sardonic chuckle, “Yeah. She’s…something else.”</p><p>“Were the two of you…close? During filming?” Tom asked, trying to keep his tone closer to idle curiosity than jealousy.</p><p>“Yeah, we were good friends,” Sebastian said. He moved to sit on a chair across from Tom, and lowered his voice, “Be careful with her, man. If you treat her badly, you’ll…”</p><p>“Have a lot of people to answer to? That’s becoming clear,” Tom replied, eyebrows raised. “I wonder who will threaten me next?”</p><p>“Hey, I wasn’t threatening, I’m just…looking out for her.”</p><p>“You’re not the first to ‘look out for her,’ as you say it. Chris already gave me the speech.”</p><p>“Ah, yeah, that makes sense. Well, she’s special. You’ll see.”</p><p>Tom found himself starting to get a little mad about the whole situation. “Did it occur to you that maybe she doesn’t need big brothers looking out for her? That she’s a grown woman who can make choices of her own?”</p><p>“Oh, we’re very aware she can make her own decisions. She can protect herself. We’re just letting you know what would happen if, despite all that, she got hurt.”</p><p>“I have no intention of hurting her, Sebastian.”</p><p>“Well then none of this will be a problem, will it?”</p><p>The creak of the bedroom door announced Shyla’s re-entry, “What’s not a problem?”</p><p>Seb gave her a somewhat strained smile, “Oh, just the schedule changes. They are what they are, I guess.”</p><p>She eyed him as she put in her earrings. “Seb, for a great actor, you can be a terrible liar. But I won’t push it. Okay, I need to decide: hair in a braid, or up in a bun?”</p><p>“Braid,” Sebastian voted.</p><p>Tom suggested “Bun,” at the same time.</p><p>“Thanks guys, that was <em>super</em> helpful! Ugh, I’ll bring supplies for both and decide when I get there. Okay, I’ve just gotta find my makeup bag, and I’m ready. Seb, do we have time to drop Tom at his hotel?”</p><p>Tom piped up, “No need, I’ll get a Lyft, if you two are already running late.” He got his phone out while she went to gather up her last things.</p><p>When she popped back out, throwing the last things into her purse, she said “Alright, I imagine it’s not too long a wait, is it, Tom?”</p><p>He stood to move to her, “No, not long at all dear. Don’t let me hold you up, I can wait out front.”</p><p>“Well, if it’s not long, then there’s no sense in me not waiting!” she lifted a hand to touch him lightly on the arm. She didn’t want to make out in front of Seb, but after being interrupted on the couch, it was hard to go cold-turkey on Tom’s touches.</p><p>“I’ll, uh…be out in the car,” Seb mumbled, excusing himself.</p><p>When the door shut behind him, Shyla slid her arms around Tom’s waist. “I’m so sorry about this. That timing was…not ideal.”</p><p>He put his hands on her back and chuckled, “No, it certainly wasn’t. Particularly unfortunate for you, I think. So…when can I see you again?”</p><p>“Well, I suppose that depends. My schedule is pretty tight through Saturday. I don’t know if I would have time for a proper date or anything until Sunday, and I leave on Monday.”</p><p>“Well, if there’s no time for a ‘proper date,’ what about an <em>improper</em> date?” he grinned, moving his hands to her hips.</p><p>“Cheeky! Pick up where we left off?” she suggested, and he smiled eagerly and lifted his brows at her. “I’ll let you know when I can find time to slip away.”</p><p>He pulled her in for a kiss, trying to imbue it with all his excitement for what was to come. From the warmth coming from her, it was reciprocated. They broke the kiss with a start when they heard honking outside, both giggling a little. They exited the house, she locked up, and he opened the door to settle her into Sebastian’s car before heading to his waiting Lyft.</p><p>After buckling up, Shyla wasn’t sure how to respond with Seb, so she waited. She was rewarded with a simple, “So…you and Tom?”</p><p>“What <em>about</em> me &amp; Tom?”</p><p>“Are you…a <em>thing</em>?”</p><p>“Jesus Seb,” she rolled her eyes. What grade were they in?</p><p>“I just mean…”</p><p>“I know what you mean. Are you asking out of friendly curiosity? Or jealousy?”</p><p>“Friendly curiosity, I promise.”</p><p>“We met at the premiere. We’ve been on a couple of dates, one of which was just interrupted, but other than that, they went well. We’re not ‘a thing,’ certainly not at this point.”</p><p>“But you liiiiiiiiike him?” he tried for playful.</p><p>She smiled a little, “Well, at least enough that this is <em>enormously</em> frustrating timing.”</p><p>He gave her a mischievous grin in return, “We’re you just about to…?”</p><p>“No! Shut up, Seb! We were just…it’s none of your business!” she was blushing now. She tried to divert him, “What were you talking about while I was changing?”</p><p>“Well <em>that</em> seems like none of <em>your</em> business!” he deflected.</p><p>“Somehow I got the impression that you were not, in fact, discussing schedule changes. And if you didn’t want me to hear…”</p><p>“Okay. Busted. It wasn’t like I was talking shit about you, Shyla…”</p><p>“What <em>were</em> you saying about me, then?”</p><p>“I just…ugh, you’re so fucking frustrating sometimes, you know that? I was just…you’re gonna hate this. I was just warning him not to hurt you.”</p><p>“You <em>WHAT</em>? Sebastian Stan!”</p><p>“Hey, Chris did it too! I just…I just let him know that there were people who cared about you, and that if you got hurt…”</p><p>“Oh, what would happen, Seb? The Avengers would avenge me?”</p><p>“Well that wasn’t what I said…”</p><p>“It wasn’t what you <em>said</em>, but it’s what you <em>meant</em>. Seb, I’m a grown-ass woman! I can fight my own battles!”</p><p>“I know! And I said that, too! I just…”</p><p>“Look, your heart was in the right place, but that wasn’t cool, Seb. I mean, if you or Chris know something about Tom that I don’t, you should tell me. But unless he’s an abuser, or a serial cheater, or something like that, just…let me handle it. I can deal with a little heartache. Relationships always hurt a little, that’s just reality. And I don’t even know if this thing with Tom will become anything worth getting hurt over. Hell, if history is any indication, he’s the one who should be warned about <em>me</em>. I’m the one stepping over the bodies of the men I’ve hurt.”</p><p>“That’s not true…”</p><p>“Oh come <em>on</em>, Seb. My body count is not zero, even if you don’t count yourself among them.”</p><p>He was silent for a moment, not really sure what to say. She <em>had</em> broken his heart. He was still at best mostly recovered, but he was working on it, and this wasn’t the time or way to tell her. “None of that was your fault. You were being you. And you had things you needed to sort through. And we hurt you. But we don’t want to see you get hurt again, and if we can do anything to prevent it…”</p><p>“Just…don’t do it again. Please. If I get hurt, it would be more helpful to have friends who I can talk to about it to get past it than friends who start sharpening their pitchforks. At least just promise to buy me a shot when it happens.”</p><p>“<em>When</em> it happens? Shyla…”</p><p>“I’m not saying he’s going to be ripping my heart out any moment now. Jesus, it’s not like he proposed, we’ve been on two dates. But I’m a realist, Seb. I will get hurt again. Maybe not by Tom, maybe I’ll break his heart, or maybe it’ll just fizzle before either of us catch feelings. But by someone. That’s life, Seb. That’s love.”</p><p>“Ugggghhhhhh I don’t like this,” he groaned. “But okay. You’re too pessimistic, but you’re at least right that I can be a better friend than this. I’m sorry about what I said to Tom.”</p><p>“Thank you, Seb. Now I just have to talk to Chris…Jesus, when did he even have time to talk to Tom?”</p><p>“At the premiere.”</p><p>“Fuck, <em>seriously</em>? He saw me <em>talking</em> to Tom and was already making threats?”</p><p>“Makes me look less bad…”</p><p>She punched his arm, “Don’t test me, Sebastian Stan. Chris is going to get an earful, too. But that’s because you’re <em>both</em> dicks.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments &amp; kudos welcome! It's about to get smutty, only a bit more patience required!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Improper Date</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After Shyla got home, she changed out of her clothes, got into her robe, and put on the kettle for a cup of tea. While she waited, she checked her phone. She’d been texting with Tom, trying to find another time they could meet that would fit into both of their schedules. She was tempted to just invite him over now, she felt itchy with surplus energy from the day. But it was late, and she didn’t need to seem <em>that</em> desperate. She got her tea and settled herself in the library, found a nice sleepy book to try to calm herself down.</p><p>She heard the knock at her door, and her heart leapt into her throat. It was late, she hadn’t ordered delivery, and wouldn’t expect anyone else. If it was a neighbor it must be a terrible emergency, but the knock didn’t sound urgent. What did murderers knock like? She jumped when her phone buzzed, but she was too spun-up to check it. She tiptoed to the door, and peeked through the peephole.</p><p>“Christ, Tom!” she swore, swinging open the door and clutching at her chest.</p><p>“Surprise!” he attempted. “Sorry, I wanted it to be a surprise, but I didn’t think of it being terrifying until after I knocked. I tried to text, but…”</p><p>“Just get in here,” she rolled her eyes and smiled, stepping aside to let him in.</p><p>He rubbed at his neck, “You said you weren’t tired, so I thought…”</p><p>“That you’d see if I was interested in a late-night booty call?” she arched and eyebrow at him, arms crossed at her chest.</p><p>He immediately got flustered, “Well, I just thought, I mean, if you…”</p><p>“I mean you’re <em>right</em>; I was and <em>am</em> interested. But still, the <em>presumption</em> of it all!” she gave him a look of feigned shock, clutching her imaginary pearls. She stepped towards him, put her hands on his chest, and eased his jacket off his shoulders.</p><p>He let it drop to the ground, immediately forgotten. His hands went to her hips and he was momentarily lost in the look in her eye and the silky feeling of her robe under his hands. Entranced.</p><p>She wrinkled her nose a little, “So…just to get the adulting out of the way: I’m on birth control, and I’ve tested clear since my last partner, but I’d prefer to use a condom anyway. I have some in the nightstand, if you didn’t bring any.”</p><p>“Very adult of you. I’m all clear as well, would you like to see my results?”</p><p>“No, I trust you. I mean, after the threats you’ve received by now, I’m surprised you’re even here, and I’d be <em>very</em> surprised if you lied to me! I’m <em>so</em> sorry about that, I had no idea those two would be such idiots.”</p><p>“It was a bit of a surprise, I knew that you’d gotten on well with the cast, but I wasn’t expecting such a…vigorous response.”</p><p>She buried her face in his chest, “This is so embarrassing! Truly, I could kill them, I’ve already told them off but ugh…”</p><p>He put his hand to her hair and held her, “Would that I were a fly on the wall for those conversations! Well, I simply took it as a good sign that you could inspire such loyalty in your friends.”</p><p>“Thank you for your probably over-generous interpretation!”</p><p>“I don’t know about ‘over-generous,’ you seem very inspirational to me…” he carded his fingers into her hair, turning her head so she looked up at him. “You inspired me to traipse across LA late at night on the off-chance you might still be awake.”</p><p>“I was wondering if you meant boner-inspiring,” she teased, and he laughed and spluttered, eyes wide. She hooked a finger into one of his beltloops, and finished “I mean, I would really hope so, it would be pretty disappointing if you came all this way for a cup of sugar.” He raised an eyebrow in response, and she added “A ‘sugar’ joke is beneath you, Hiddleston.” And stood on her tiptoes for a kiss.</p><p>He was more than happy to oblige, squeezing her into him. Her back arched enticingly, molding her to him, his free hand sliding over the silk covering her. They had a significant height difference, and soon it was clear that making out standing up was not a long-term solution. He suggested “Should we pick up where we left off on the couch?”</p><p>“The bed is a bit more comfortable…” she suggested, and when he smiled and raised his eyebrows, she took his hand and lead him back.</p><p>As soon as they made it past the threshold into her bedroom, he tugged at her hand to reel her in again, kissing her and backing her to the bed. When the backs of her legs hit the mattress, she tumbled back. She got up on her knees, moving towards him. He went right for the tie on her robe, slowly pulling at it, and she let it fall open as she watched him. He slowly slid it off her shoulders, raising goosebumps along the path of his fingers. He watched her nipples harden and a little shiver run through her, and a smile curled his lips. He ran his hands down her sides, and hooked them behind her knees and tugged, laying her down and eliciting a giggle. He climbed over her, and entwined her fingers in his, kissing her neck. She was already gasping and squirming under him, and whined “Why are you dressed?”</p><p>He nipped at her shoulder, “You didn’t seem disappointed with my work earlier, and I was fully clothed then,” he ground himself into her to prove his point, and she arched off the bed, throwing her head back. Point taken.</p><p>He let her hands go and they snapped to the back of his head, holding him to her and urging him on. He rolled off her enough to pull her panties down with one hand, and she kicked them off the rest of the way. He sat back to look at her, fully naked beneath him, breathing heavily, hair tousled, reaching for him. She didn’t let him enjoy the view long, with a little frustrated noise she sat up and started moving her hands to untuck his shirt. “If you don’t lose some clothes, this is gonna get <em>messy</em>,” she threatened.</p><p>“Mmm…but what if I like messy?” his voice thrummed as she got to work on his buttons, and he ran his hands over her.</p><p>“Well, you’ll get your wish no matter what,” she said between kisses along his torso, “but it’s your choice if it’s on your clothes.”</p><p>He shucked his shirt, tossing it to the floor, and leaned down to kiss her. She was fumbling at his belt buckle, distracted, when he reached down between her legs and their kiss cut off with her gasp. She gathered what little focus she had left to finish with his fly, and reach in, grabbing his cock, finally getting a gasp out of him, with a grunt as well. They lay back down on the bed, facing each other, alternating between nimbly playing with each other and distracted strokes. Shyla finally succumbed, just gripping him, and with a “Fuck, Tom, I’m gonna…” he got to watch her eyes scrunch shut while her mouth fell open in an O. She did make a mess, his hand was soaked, and he loved it. “Oh, that was…” she sighed, trailing off.</p><p>“The first of many, I hope?”</p><p>She managed a nod, and kissed him, remembering his cock was still in her hand. She started to get back to the work. “What’s next for you? I know what <em>I</em> want, what do <em>you</em> want, baby?”</p><p>“I want to fuck you,” he ground out, and it thrilled her to hear those words tumble out of his posh, polite, English lips.</p><p>“Nothing else first? I’m happy to…”</p><p>He stood abruptly, “<em>Now</em>.” He got rid of his trousers and boxer-briefs, and found a condom. This time, she didn’t rise to help him, she laid back, rubbing the insides of her thighs, inviting him. He groaned from the sight of it, smiling and shaking his head. This <em>woman</em>…</p><p>He was on her, positioning her hips, and plunging into her in a heartbeat, and she cried out. She wrapped her limbs around him, he thought she would kiss him, whisper some sweet nothings. But she flipped him onto his back, under her. Twining her fingers in his, she whispered, “How about <em>I</em> fuck <em>you</em> first?” and pushed herself to hover above him.</p><p>She kept his hands trapped as she rode him, rising off him completely and then driving down onto him. She went slow, it was his turn to writhe and moan. He watched the way her body moved over him. “Let me use my hands,” he pleaded.</p><p>She grinned wickedly, “You’ll have to do better than that. Why do you need your hands?” She slammed down onto him to punctuate her question.</p><p>“Just let me touch you, please. Please, just…” he was cut off by her hitting bottom again. But this time she didn’t lift her hips, she sat back, releasing his hands. She ground down on him, impaled to the hilt, throwing her head back, giving his hands full opportunity to explore. They ran up her thighs, over her stomach, arriving at her breasts, kneading at them. She clutched his hands to her, encouraging him, and he moaned at her sheer wantonness. Then she slid one of his hands down her torso, right where their bodies met, grinding her clit into him. He didn’t have to do anything, just sit back and enjoy, watching her use his body to get off.</p><p>When she collapsed on his chest, he whispered “I could watch that all day.”</p><p>“I’ll find some time on my calendar, get back to you,” she managed, smiling, before kissing his chest. “For now, I think it’s your turn,” she said, biting him a little. “Fuck me.”</p><p>“How would you like it?”</p><p>“However you want to give it to me,” she purred.</p><p>Now it was his turn to flip her over, and entwine his fingers in her, “I can’t stop watching you…” he confessed, looking at her face and body respond as he withdrew almost completely, then slowly slid back in.</p><p>“Fuuuuuuck you feel so good,” she moaned, hands flexing in his grip. She wanted to touch him just as badly as he wanted to touch her, that much was plain. He wanted to tease her back, give her a turn to suffer a bit. He lowered his head to her neck, nipping at her and kissing, nibbling her ear, listening to her ragged breaths and little moans and whimpers. Even without the use of his hands, he enjoyed discovering all the little ways he could to get her hips to buck under him. When she finally begged, “Please, Tom, please…” he gave in and released her hands, and her hands dove through his hair and scratched at his back. Hearing his name and feeling her hold herself so close to him was enough to push him to ramp up the speed and power of his thrusts, her moaned encouragements as she was gripped by another climax sent him over the edge, too.</p><p>He chuckled and kissed her before rolling off her. She took his hand and raised it to her lips, brushing kisses across his knuckles as she caught her breath. “Thank you,” she sighed, rolling to her side to look at him, tucking his hand to her chest and caressing his cheek.</p><p>He brought her hand from his cheek to his lips, kissing it and rolling towards her. He brought her hand to his chest, mirroring her. “I think I should be the one thanking you,” he said. “That was amazing.”</p><p>They just gazed sleepily into each other’s eyes for a while, before she said, “I should let you get cleaned up, but I like looking at you.”</p><p>“Likewise. Although, the one who stays behind gets to watch the other go…”</p><p>She playfully pushed him away and put on an accent straight out of a bad Western, “Go on, then! Git!”</p><p>He grinned, desire to watch her ass move replaced by pride she wanted to watch his. She told him where to find the washcloths, and he gave a little shake of the hips before leaving the bedroom. She was a wonder! He thought back to when he first saw her a few days ago. He’d caught glimpses of her blue hair here and there on the red carpet and couldn’t help but be intrigued. In that hustle and bustle, greeting all his friends from the cast and crew, he wasn’t able to make his way to her to get an introduction. From his seat in the theatre, he watched her take the stage with the rest of the cast while a few words were said before the screening and could see her profile in relief after she sat. In her scenes it was hard to choose between watching the version of her on the screen and the one in her seat, seeing her hide her face in embarrassment was almost as much fun as the scene where she passionately kissed Cap. When he made it to the afterparty, he wanted to seek her out immediately, but decided that seemed a little desperate. So he bided his time. He watched her chat with their mutual friends, not sure if it would be better to be properly introduced. She fairly sparkled, laughing with everyone, greeting her famous castmates and the unrecognizable and underappreciated crewmembers with the same enthusiastic glee. Ultimately he decided that waiting for an introduction felt too much like he was courting her in some gothic romance, so when he saw she was finally alone, he approached. And when she looked into his eyes and smiled, it was all over. He’d been struck.</p><p>In the days since, those eyes were all he could think about. He saw them when he woke up, and when he went to sleep. They haunted him through meetings, while he ate. It felt selfish and over-eager, but he wanted to see her as much as he could manage, claim as much of her time as he could before they were both taken away for other commitments. They both lived complicated lives, and he couldn’t know when the next time he would get to see her would be. And yet, for all that, he hadn’t been sure if he should come tonight. He wanted her badly, certainly. But he’d wondered if he did go, if it would just become a fling to her. They’d had fun flirting, getting to know each other. And he knew they would see each other again, even if they didn’t share any scenes in the remaining movies, they’d still both be in them. But how would they be greeting each other, if he went to her tonight?</p><p>Future be damned: he wanted her, and she wanted him, he’d sort out the rest later. And now, in her bathroom, cleaning himself up, surrounded by her things, he was very satisfied in his decision.</p><p>When he went back to her room, she had kicked the covers down, keeping the top sheet up for some pretense of modesty, draped over her bum as she lay on her stomach. He took a moment to appreciate the view, and she turned to face him. “You just gonna stand there?” she asked, head pillowed on her hands.</p><p>He joined her in bed, kissing along her shoulders and sliding a hand down to cup her ass. “I think I’ll be standing soon enough,” he said against her skin.</p><p>She turned under him, facing him, “You’re not sleepy after sex?”</p><p>“Not when it’s as good as that.”</p><p>“Mmm…good to know. Normally I’d be bursting with energy now, but I find myself exhausted. Are you an incubus, did you just drain the life force out of me?”</p><p>“That would be a neat trick. If you’re too tired, I can let you get to sleep…”</p><p>“Well that isn’t what I said at <em>all</em>…” she grinned and pulled him up to her face. “That was really wonderful, Tom. Thank you.”</p><p>“Good enough for you to thank me twice? I must have done something right!”</p><p>“Did I?” she laughed at herself. “Well, you have sexed the brains right out of me, so I’d say you did indeed do something right! Let me go clean myself up. Do you need anything? Glass of water, congratulatory shot of whiskey?”</p><p>“A glass of water would be lovely, thanks.”</p><p>She kissed him, and, with great difficulty, got out of bed. She cleaned herself up, including removing her makeup, humming delightedly. She grabbed two glasses of water, put away the tea things from earlier, and went back to the bedroom. He was reclined, hands behind his head, showing off his muscles to best advantage, eyes closed with a contented smile. “Well, hey there,” she smiled at him from the doorway. He opened his eyes, and looked her up and down. She felt a bit exposed, standing fully naked with no makeup in front of him. She wasn’t insecure, and usually she didn’t wear a lot of makeup, but since they’d met at a premiere and been seeing each other between media events, he hadn’t really seen her <em>this</em> bare. Well, he’d seen her in workout gear, but his eyes seemed pretty focused on the sweat-misted bare skin below her neck.</p><p>She moved to put his water on the nightstand, and he sat up and grabbed at her hips. “God, you’re gorgeous,” he said, watching his fingers trace along the curves of her side.</p><p>“I was thinking the same about you,” she tried to deflect and hide her blush by drinking some water.</p><p>He laughed, “I can’t hold a candle to you, love. You’re the most spectacular woman I’ve ever seen.”</p><p>She put one of her hands to her cheek and took another long drink of water, “You are quite the sweet-talker.”</p><p>He took the glass from her, set it down, and pulled both of her hands away from her face. “Do you not think you’re spectacular? Shyla, I think you’re very shortly going to have to come to terms with it. When the world sees you in your film, and in the interviews, they’re all going to go mad for you. From the second I saw you, I knew I had to meet you, and every moment since has been a constant delight. It’s why I had to laugh when you thanked me, because truly, I’m the lucky one here.”</p><p>She looked up at the ceiling to avoid his eyes, so he stood to capture her face in his hands. She tried to explain, “This is all still pretty bananas to me, you know that, right? But thank you for being so sweet. It’s been a stressful few days, and there’s still a lot ahead of me, and…I’ve really enjoyed our time together. You’re a good man, Tom, I hope you know that. And that was…whew!” she let out a self-explanatory huff of air and kissed his chest.</p><p>“It certainly was,” he chuckled. “Any chance of a repeat?”</p><p>“I don’t think I have the energy for that level of athleticism tonight, but definitely yes on the repeat at some point.”</p><p>“Do you want to go to sleep now? I can leave,” he suggested.</p><p>“I mean, if you have something tomorrow morning you need to get up early for, then you should probably go. But if not…” she warned as she stood on tiptoe for a kiss, “don’t you dare!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Good Morning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning she woke up feeling a hand at her hip and lips at her shoulder. After she wiggled her toes, she yawned and stretched a little, feeling the lips move to her now-exposed neck. “Good morning,” she said groggily.</p><p>The hand moved from her hip to her stomach, and he scooted closer to her, making no doubt about what he meant when he asked “Would you like the morning to be even better?” in her ear, his point poking her in the backside.</p><p>She sleepily purred, wrapping a hand around the back of his head and pressing into him. He slid an arm under her head and she kissed his bicep, while his other hand trailed down her stomach, between her legs. He watched her profile, saw the corner of her lips curl into a smile while she sighed, and realized her eyes were still shut. “You’re not going to sleep through this, are you?”</p><p>“Why would I wake up?” she asked before he made her gasp, then finished “This dream is amazing…” she blindly groped at the nightstand, rifling through the drawer. When her hand reappeared, she tore open the condom wrapper and held it up for him, grinding her ass into his erection.</p><p>He didn’t need to be asked twice. He snatched the condom from the wrapper, and adjusted himself to roll it down his length. He slid himself between her legs, sliding lazily along her slit. God, she was soaking already. He repositioned her leg and reached between them to guide himself into her.</p><p>“Ohhhhh Tom,” she moaned, as he kissed and caressed her, slowly plunging into her. He took a languorous pace, holding her to him as she met his rhythm, moving against him, between his hand and hips. Her little sighs and whimpers started to turn into little whines as she tried to urge him to up the tempo.</p><p>“That’s going to require a change of position, love.”</p><p>“Whatever it takes,” she breathed, “just fuck me.”</p><p>The sweetest words he could hope to hear. He nipped her on the shoulder, withdrawing and instructing her to “Kneel.”</p><p>She grinned, and rolled to put her ass in the air. He heard her mess with something in the nightstand but was too distracted with the view to think very hard about it. He ran his hands over her, giving himself a couple strokes, and dove into her, throwing his head back. The view, the angle…</p><p>Her shoulders pressed her into the sheets as her fingers knotted in them. He could still just see her face in profile, but it was enough to see how much she was enjoying herself. She pushed her upper half off the bed, throwing her head back so her hair cascaded down to her waist. “Pull my hair,” she demanded. He felt a surge of arousal go through him at her words, and he wove his fingers in and balled his hand into a fist. He felt her tense up a little before moaning his name, encouraging his thrusts even further. She was making little whimpers, and her eyes were clenched shut. He just had time to realize she had shifted her weight somewhat when he heard a curious buzzing sound. He was about to dismiss it when he felt the source: the minx had taken out a vibrator, and had it hitting right where he entered her, on the underside of his shaft, presumably hitting her clit too. Suddenly he felt overwhelmed with sensation, she was gripping him harder than ever, and the vibrations running through every thrust caused his hands to grip uncontrollably, and she cried out as he pulled her hair harder than he intended. He sped up, out of control, as waves of orgasms crashed through her over and over, rushing him to his finish.</p><p>When he’d finished, he sat back on his heels and nearly collapsed forward. She tipped over onto her side, and put the toy on the nightstand. When she caught her breath a little, she said between pants, “Sorry to spring that on you. I just…it’s a little harder for me to get there in the mornings without…help.”</p><p>He finally let himself collapse on the bed in the spot she’d vacated, “That was not something to apologize for, that was fucking <em>amazing</em>.”</p><p>She pressed a smiling kiss into his shoulder, “Yeah?”</p><p>“Gods, I don’t think I’ve come like that…possibly ever. You’re incredible!”</p><p>“Were you talking to me, or my little battery-operated friend over there?”</p><p>He rolled to her, “You. Although I would thank your friend for the assist. You’re just…you’re incredible.” He plunged his hand into her hair again, gripping but not pulling, and kissed her passionately. They were too breathless to keep it up for long, but that didn’t stop them from trying.</p><p>When they broke the kiss, and just lay there panting, forehead to forehead. Eventually, she craned her neck to plant a quick smooch above his brows, and then rolled out of bed and scooped her robe off the ground. “I’ll get cleaned up and then see about breakfast. I’ll be in the kitchen, if you can figure out how to use your legs again.”</p><p> </p><p>She was sitting on her kitchen island, having sorted through the breakfast possibilities. It was a little bleak, as she was just about to be traveling for a while, she hadn’t gotten anything fresh in a while. She heard his bare feet padding through the house, and smiled as she took a glance over her shoulder, seeing him stride towards her in his underwear. God, he was a tall drink of water. “Hey,” was all she could manage, between trying to suppress her smile and trying to suppress her dirty thoughts.</p><p>“Hey,” he returned, rounding on her and standing between her legs, grinning down at her. “I didn’t realize you wore glasses?”</p><p>She put her arms around his neck, and grinned back. “You’ve only seen me when I’m doing a lot of work. I don’t generally prefer contacts, but if there’s lights and cameras, it’s easier if I can avoid the glare.”</p><p>“I wear glasses as well, although I don’t have nearly the selection you do. It’s impressive.”</p><p>“I do wear them almost all the time. Might as well have options.”</p><p>“Fair enough.”</p><p>“Any other questions you would like to ask about my house or my possessions?”</p><p>“How is it that your bathroom looks like an old-fashioned apothecary?”</p><p>“You should see my pantry, it looks like a witch’s kitchen! I try to minimize plastic use when I’m home, so I get things in glass bottles.”</p><p>“Unguents and tinctures for a modern witch?”</p><p>“More like serums and scrubs in the bathroom, but not far off. Anything else you want to know? You had plenty of time to play spy yesterday.”</p><p>“’Play spy’? I would never…” he tried to deny, and she quirked an eyebrow at him. “Alright, I took a peek around. No burning questions though.”</p><p>“Frankly I would have been a little insulted if you’d had that much unsupervised time and didn’t take a look around.”</p><p>“What can I say, I was intrigued. But I have no further questions at the moment, so we can move on to other concerns.”</p><p>“Well, I’ve assessed the breakfast situation. You’ll be happy to hear, there is plenty of tea, I know that must be the most important part. You name it, I’ve probably got at least one tea bag of it.”</p><p>“You’ve really been planning this seduction for a long time, haven’t you?”</p><p>“What can I say? I like to be prepared. And as for food, if you want to be very <em>California</em>, I can do avocado toast with a poached egg. If that doesn’t sound good, I still have the component parts, so any permutation of egg and toast is doable. And one huge avocado.”</p><p>“Is that truly all you have? Have you been starving yourself?”</p><p>“No! I’m just about to fly out for a month, give me a break! If avocados ripened more predictably, I wouldn’t even have this much! I’m not a huge breakfast person anyway. We can go out, if you prefer.”</p><p>“Well I’d hate for you to have to get dressed on my account. And avocado toast sounds lovely. What can I do?”</p><p>“Choose your tea! Earl Grey with milk?”</p><p>“That would be heaven,” his lips said, but his body moved in closer, running his hands up her thighs.</p><p>“I would have to get down from this counter to make the tea,” she pointed out.</p><p>“Mmhmm,” he mumbled into her neck, lifting her legs to wrap them around him.</p><p>“Goodness, if you’re willing to have a further delay of tea, you must want it bad, Hiddleston…”</p><p>“Mmhmm,” his hands had moved to her hips, and he scooted her a little closer to the edge.</p><p>“How do you have it in you? Where do you get the energy if not from tea? Or <em>food</em>?”</p><p>He kissed along the edge of her robe, down her cleavage. He knelt in front of her, putting her legs on his shoulders. He kissed along her inner thigh, and smiled up at her when she twitched a little in response. “Well, I had a different idea for a first course…”</p><p>“You don’t have to…oh!” the thought cut short in a delighted gasp when his long artist’s fingers joined the party. She automatically tilted her hips to give him better access and was glad she had decided against putting on panties. She ran her hand through his short hair, it was hot even just watching him. For some men, oral was means to an end, whether that was just a lead-up to reciprocation or full-on sex. For others, it was more of a display, trying to make themselves seem like better lovers. But Tom…this man wanted to be exactly where he was. Whether he just loved eating pussy in general or was particularly thrilled about hers, she didn’t know and didn’t particularly care. The devotion he put into the task, the enjoyment he clearly got from it, just heightened everything about the moment, if she could have she would have forced herself <em>not</em> to come, just to watch him make a meal out of her forever. But she couldn’t, soon she was tensing up under his tongue and around his fingers, gasping for air.</p><p>Standing, he rested his forehead against hers as she caught her breath. She wrapped her hand around the back of his head and kissed him appreciatively, “Wow! Thank you, Tom, that was…” she exhaled through puckered lips.</p><p>“My absolute pleasure,” he insisted.</p><p>“I think the pleasure was all mine!” She kissed him again, hooking her feet around the backs of his thighs. “I feel like we were going to do something else here in the kitchen, but I’m not entirely sure my brain is functioning.”</p><p>He smiled and kissed her again, before adding “I think breakfast might have been involved, but at this rate, I’m not sure I care…”</p><p>“Mmm…well, at the least, I think I’m going to need some food and caffeine if I’m going to return that favor.</p><p>“Then what can I do to help?”</p><p> </p><p>They spent the day alternating between her trying to pack and get ready for the press tour and being physically glued together. Since it was all press events, she had to bring all the things her stylist had picked out for her, plus some casual things she could wear on her own time, so she couldn’t exactly pack light, and getting it into her luggage was a bit of an ordeal. But Tom was perfectly content either reading, trying to help her, or trying to distract her.</p><p>When they were cooling down from another round of distraction, she was laying on his chest, looking up at him and playing with his hair. “Today has been amazing, Tom. Thank you for everything.”</p><p>“I should be the one thanking you for today. And, well, for this whole week.”</p><p>“I hope I haven’t kept you from friends or anything, there must be other people you were wanting to see on your trip.”</p><p>“There is no one I would rather see and nowhere else I would rather be, than here with you,” he took her hand and pressed her palms to his lips before holding it to his chest, over his heart.</p><p>She blushed a little, smiling. She looked at him for a moment, trying to decide something. “So, Tom…ugh, there’s no good way to ask this. Normally I wouldn’t, but with everything we’ve both got coming up…what were you hoping to get out of this?” He shifted under her, to get a better look at her. She continued, “I just…it feels like this is that part in the romance novel where the reader is sitting there screaming ‘just talk to each other!’ so they can avoid the inevitable misunderstandings and heartache. I’ve had a lot of fun with you the past few days. If that’s all this is, and all it will be…”</p><p>“Shyla,” he cut her off, running his fingers into her hair and brushing a thumb over her lip, “I really hope we can be more than a few days of fun.”</p><p>She smiled a little warily, “Really, it’s fine, I’m not saying this to put any pressure on you. Fun is perfectly fine, and I’m not asking for undying fidelity or something bananas. Just curious if you want to keep seeing me. Especially since we’re not going to be able to see each other for a while…”</p><p>He sat up and pulled her up with him, holding eye contact and caressing her face. “Shyla, I want to keep seeing you. It’s why I’ve been trying to squeeze every moment I can out of this week. If you just want this to stop here, I can accept that, but I have to confess: you’ve enchanted me, Shyla.”</p><p>She couldn’t keep the smile from her lips, “Really?”</p><p>“Completely.”</p><p>Her kiss said it all. A little bashful, but full of a sweet tenderness and excitement. And neither of them could stop smiling.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This...might be the end? I'm not sure. This feels like a cute ending point, and I'm having a post-smut writer's block. I'm not really sure what to do with them next (other than more smut, but I'm getting to the point where I've written so many sex scenes with so many dudes it's hard not to get severely repetitive).</p><p>If you have any ideas or wonderings or half-baked thoughts or questions, I'd love to hear them. I still might come back to this with fresh ideas, but stay home orders + ADD + insomnia got me some kinda way. So we'll see!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks in advance for any kudos or comments! I'm a total praise-slut, so it helps motivate me to write more!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>